1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for applying film coatings of material to bodies of electrical components having axial leads. Accordingly, it is a general object of this invention to provide new and improved apparatus of such character.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Certain governmental agencies have contractual relations with their suppliers that require that printed circuit boards with soldered components be cleaned with an aqueous solution. A purpose of such requirement is that the boards be flux free. Disadvantageously, the aqueous cleaning solution tends to remove identifying markings on components which are produced with poor quality ink. As some governmental agencies prefer markings on devices to be permanent, the component bodies (but not the leads) are coated with a polyurethane film to prevent loss of identification markings when cleaned.
A prior method of coating devices was to tape a length of components together, manually paint one side of the bodies of the components with liquid polyurethane, turn over the entire length of taped components, manually paint the other side of the bodies of the components with liquid polyurethane, drape the entire painted tape of components across benches, and permit the components to cure for approximately twelve hours. The taped components were required to be hung in a manner which would not allow components to touch each other or any other objects while curing.
Disadvantageously, such prior method of coating devices was slow, tedious and costly, required a large area of space for the curing step, and resulted in uneven distribution of polyurethane coatings upon the bodies of the components.
3. Information Disclosure Statement
As a means of complying with the duty of disclosure set forth in 37 CFR 1.56, the following listing of patents, publications or other information is provided which might be material to the examination of the application. Although a concise explanation of the relevance of each listed item is that such listing resulted from the completion of a preliminary novelty search, this statement shall not be construed as a representation that a search has been made or that no other material information as defined in 37 CFR 1.56(a) exists.
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Patentee(s) Patent Dates ______________________________________ 262,022 DuBrul Aug. 1, 1882 1,547,257 Nasmith July 28, 1925 2,233,865 Graham Mar. 4, 1941 2,271,999 Gariepy Feb. 3, 1942 2,918,028 Wright Dec. 22, 1959 4,104,985 Klein Aug. 8, 1978 4,141,313 Hefele Feb. 27, 1979 4,207,832 Bowman et al. Jun. 17, 1980 ______________________________________